Winston raves about offseason workouts with Peterson

Is Jameis Winston sending a message to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers front office?

In his first official media availability of the offseason, the Bucs quarterback had a lot to say about a running back who isn't on the roster.

Winston spent time working out with free-agent running back Adrian Peterson in Houston this offseason, and had plenty to say about the future Hall of Famer on Monday at his team facility.

Related: Peterson training with Buccaneers' Winston, Evans, Jackson

"Being able to be in the presence of whom many consider to be one of the greatest backs, especially of this generation, my generation - to be able to learn (from) and see his work ethic, to see the way he works, man, you really know why he's great," Winston said, according to ESPN's Jenna Laine.

Winston didn't request his team to sign Peterson as they are rumored to be in the running back market. Instead, he focused on what it was like to see how a player of Peterson's talent perfects his art.

"You know why he's been able to play at a high level in this league for so long, which helps me, because I want to be great," Winston said. "I want to be considered one of the best players in the league.

"To see that (after) 10 years, this man is still outworking everybody in his own facility, it's amazing. It's very eye-opening to me and motivating."